


City of the Lost

by SamanthaStarbreaker



Category: Lucifer (TV), Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Gays??, In my Stargate????, M/M, Other, Sentient Atlantis, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, it's more likely than you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-07-10 09:10:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19903303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamanthaStarbreaker/pseuds/SamanthaStarbreaker
Summary: An ancient general can't quite wipe the millennia of blood off his hands.A fallen angel keeps getting cast away by the ones he loves the most.A pilot turned leader knows that two galaxies isn't far enough to run from the truth.For some reason, broken souls keep finding their way to the Lost City of Atlantis, and she's not complaining. She keeps the ones that find her, and helps them find themselves along the way.





	1. Tenebris

**Author's Note:**

> Stargate: Atlantis x Lucifer crossover! About a month post-season 5 for SG:A, and post-season 3 for Lucifer. 
> 
> Not in any way, shape, or form Lucifer S4 compliant. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Your best people have no bloody idea what they're dealing with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which: the Devil is susceptible to blood loss, Sheppard is so deep in the closet she's the queen of Narnia, and Todd is probably not scheming. Probably.
> 
> Credit to my amazing betas, claudiapriscus and SolUnderscore!

Lucifer Morningstar, playboy club owner, LAPD consultant, and retired Lord of Hell, was screaming in agony. If your veins were as full of angelic adrenaline as his at this moment, you would see the bullets strike him in slow motion one, two, three at a time. He was surrounded by men with guns, and they were busy emptying those guns into him. He had known for a while that Chloe Decker was going to be the death of him - quite literally. He was stationary, bent over her with his angelic wings around her as a white feathery shield of protection. In that moment, every single bullet that tore into his flesh was worth it if it meant they weren't hitting her. Through the pain, Lucifer was listening for the moment each of the guns clicked over to empty; they had to run out of bullets eventually. With the break in the gunfire, Lucifer made his escape, Detective in hand.

His powerful wings barely obeyed as he lifted her into the sky, and he was hemorrhaging divinity and blood both. It took every last bit of his concentration - and something extra he didn't know he had - to keep his flight anchored to Earth. He was aiming for his penthouse above Lux, of course. His Detective would be safe there. The bloody, broken wings didn't have it in them, however, and he landed painfully on a nearby rooftop. Chloe stood up and stared at him in horror. "It's true. It's all true. You're the Devil!"

Lucifer was not prepared for the look of revulsion she gave him in that moment. She wasn't saying anything more, but the terror in her eyes cut him to the quick. He had known. Known this was how things would end up when the Detective found out. Nobody could love the Devil, want the Lord of Hell in their life. He turned away, lifted off, and flew to finish this. Cain had to die. He had taken off and his wings seemed like they had one last flight left in them, until a thought distracted him. _It's over. Truly over this time._ His wings burned in pain as he spun out of control, and his last thought before he hit the ground was of Chloe.

* * *

Soaring - she was weaving between asteroids, faster and faster and faster until every part of her body sang in joy. The Dart was nimble at her fingertips, woman and machine playing a duet in the stars. Her pursuers were fast, but she was always faster. These were the moments when she felt truly alive -

"Sheppard?" The voice of Rodney McKay, physicist and all-around pain in the ass, shook Colonel John Sheppard out of her reverie. Damn. She'd been daydreaming again, and she'd been thinking about _it_. That was dangerous. Her unwritten rule was that if she didn't think about it, didn't talk about it, nobody would find out. She could still fly, still be in Atlantis, and nobody would take her away from Atlantis again. She schooled her features into the aloof and alert face she always used, and gave the physicist her best drawl. "Rodney?"

"Were you even paying attention to a single word I said?"

She hadn't been, but knowing McKay made it easier to infer from the context. Counting on her fingers she said, "You don't think it's a good use of resources to have an entire gate team meeting Todd every time he leaves, you think he should have his own iris code so you don't have to do this, and Woolsey isn't giving you your citywide day of downtime for scheduled maintenance."

The physicist furrowed his eyebrows in the closest thing he got to a chastened look, saying, "I hadn't mentioned the maintenance yet."

"Yet," Sheppard said with half a grin. "And I'm with ya, Rodney. Hell, I'm saying the same things. The IOA-"

"-Are a bunch of idiots with their heads so far up their bureaucratic asses they wouldn't have let us come back home if we hadn't forced the issue!"

"Yeah, but they're also in charge of our resupply and personnel rotation. Do you remember what it was like before we had supply runs from Earth, Rodney? I sure do."

"Yes, well, we lived. Without Earth politicians looking over our shoulders."

"McKay, we're _from_ Earth," the colonel protested, purely because she was the ranking officer, and thus the designated voice of Law and Order here on M4X-645. Privately, she agreed with the Canadian doctor on both points. Todd should have an iris code so he could come and go freely, and as much as she was born there, Earth wasn't her home. She was about to continue when there was a loud noise from behind her. Rodney paled, and Sheppard spun around, her gun at the ready.

There was a man in an Earth-style suit lying in a furrow of dirt. This would be unusual by itself, but the man wasn't human. He had a pair of feathered wings emerging from his back, one of them at an angle that definitely wasn't right. The giant wings had originally been white, John guessed, but they were streaked through in crimson and red. Whatever this person was, he was in bad shape. Walking slowly up to the alien, John didn't see any breathing. She poked the creature's chest with her rifle, and jerked back when the man suddenly inhaled with a wheeze. The alien creature stood to its feet shakily, and again Sheppard was struck by how human he looked. Specifically, _Earth_ human.

He looked around, confused, then saw John's gun pointed at him. With a smirk, he opened his mouth. What came out was definitely language, but not one John had ever heard. It was beautiful and lyrical and completely unintelligible. This didn't happen often; usually the Stargate took the liberty of translating. The alien cleared his throat and tried again, but this time his language was guttural and harsh, like metal scraping against metal. John couldn't help but grimace at the sound, and the alien frowned. He looked at John's uniform, saw the American flag on the arm, and cleared his throat again.

"Hello there, could I trouble you for directions to Los Angeles?" the man said in an English accent. This was, to say the least, a massive security risk. John was about to say something noncommittal and vague when Rodney checked his watch and sarcastically said, "Oh, about three million light years that way," pointing into the sky. The alien followed Rodney's finger, looking at the star constellations, and frowned. "Those aren't right at all. I didn't put those there," he said. "Where am I?"

John sighed. Rodney definitely shouldn't have given away classified information like that. "You're on a moon we've labelled M4X-645, in the Pegasus galaxy. My name's John Sheppard, and this is Rodney McKay. We're explorers here, from Earth. Who are you?"

"Lucifer. Morningstar. You're saying we're not on Earth right now?"

"Not anywhere near it."

"Well then, as charming as it's been, I really must be going," the alien named Lucifer said. He tried to stretch his wings, and ended up doubled over in pain. He kept trying to move, and screamed in multiple languages Sheppard did recognize.

"Rodney! Dial home, tell Keller we have incoming wounded! Todd's going to have to wait!"

"I will have to wait for what, Sheppard?" a hissing, dissonant voice asked from behind him. The Wraith that John had named Todd was walking up to her when he noticed Lucifer bent over in pain. "Do you require my assistance in moving this one?"

Lucifer looked at the pale green-skinned alien and said, "Now I know I'm hallucinating."

Todd tilted his head sideways, made a chittering noise with his alien mouth, and to everyone's surprise, Lucifer chittered back. The two of them got into what must have been a conversation, including rare bursts of English words like "Chloe Decker" and "Los Angeles" then Todd gave the Englishman his creepy predator smile, and said to John, "He needs medical attention."

John laughed sharply. "You think?" Rodney yelled back, "We're clear! Send him through!"

* * *

Nobody manhandled the Devil, and he was most certainly not going to be taken out of the fight. He had Cain to face, and so help him Dad, he was going to drag that bastard to hell personally. Maybe even spend a few centuries getting him acquainted with just the kind of Devil he could be. He raised his arms and tried to wrench free of his bedheaded American captor, but the instant his back moved, pain shot through his every nerve in a way he hadn't experienced since the Fall. Lucifer tried to fight it, but he was inevitably overwhelmed by the burning sensation and subsumed into roaring white. He barely felt it as he was picked up and carried, and the last sensation he felt was like a waterfall, but existentially wrong, before he fell completely unconscious.

* * *

As Atlantis took control of his Dart, the Wraith that John had named Todd smiled. The irony was never lost on him. If someone had told him five years ago that he would come to consider the last city of the Lanteans his second home, he'd have been very confused as he drained their life out of their body. These days, though, it was true. Where the Wraith's hive would whisper in his mind with a thousand voices, the city of Atlantis _sang_. The first few times he'd visited Atlantis, the song had been jarring and dissonant. Atlantis had sung of danger, sabotage, intrusion, and war. With every time he came back, though, both he and the city changed slowly. While the city guided his small space fighter to a rest in its hangar, Todd felt the refrain of _ <welcome home guide!>_ resonate in his head.

He ran down the stairs to meet John Sheppard, McKay, and the injured creature from their meeting planet. The winged one had spoken to him in Wraith, something entirely unexpected. Most humanoids didn't have the right vocal structure for it. Todd was among the oldest of the Wraith that still lived, and he'd never encountered anything like this creature. As he entered the Stargate chamber, none of the humans were present. He interrupted the telepathic song of the city briefly.

_Atlantis, where is Sheppard?_

_< sheppard is here>_ the city sang back, with a map forming in Todd's head.

He followed it at a dead sprint, running through the corridors and ignoring the panicked looks on the faces of the Lanteans as he passed them.

He burst through the doors of Atlantis' infirmary, where the winged creature was currently unconscious and restrained to a hospital bed. It looked human, with the exception of the massive white wings on its back, and it was covered in blood. Doctor Keller was examining it, and Sheppard was leaning against the wall.

"Todd," the dark-haired human drawled, "didya really have to give half the city a heart attack?"

The Wraith smiled, his pointed teeth forming a grin he knew unsettled Sheppard deeply. "If half of your city is in mortal danger from the sight of a single Wraith, perhaps they should have remained in your galaxy. I am hardly alone here."

The Lantean scowled at Todd briefly before nodding towards the figure on the bed. "Friend of yours?"

"I have never encountered this creature before."

"He talked to you. About Earth."

Todd's grin got wider. "Yesss."

"Anything interesting to say?"

"He wished to be left alone so he could rescue someone."

"Who?"

"A woman named Chloe Decker. She is an inquisitor in your city of Los Angeles."

Sheppard said, "An inquisitor," in the tone of voice Todd had learned meant the colonel was not amused.

It wasn't his fault the humans didn't have proper telepathy, Todd thought with a hissed sigh. "One who enforces the law through investigation and extracts confession from the unworthy."

"I think he means a detective, Sheppard," McKay chimed in from his position at a Lantean terminal nearby. "Was there any more to his message?"

"No."

Sheppard regarded the winged creature with curiosity before turning to go. "Better dial Earth, then." McKay and Keller resumed their work studying the creature, and Todd walked over to join them.

* * *

Lucifer awoke with a start. As he opened his eyes, he found he was restrained to a hospital bed using handcuffs. An amateur move, insulting really. The cuffs unlocked and fell away with a single thought. He looked around the room. For a moment, it seemed like he was back in LA. The tacky burgundy and cream décor, the brightly colored glass, and the salty sea air all felt very familiar. On the other hand, the creature watching over him at his bedside wasn't something he'd ever seen. Pale green skin, slitted catlike eyes, and white hair complemented the creature's black leather trench coat and overall predatory carriage. It noticed that Lucifer was awake, looking at him expectantly, and he spoke to it.

"I'm not in Los Angeles, am I?"

This elicited a chuckle from the creature. "No."

Chloe! He had to get back to LA, had to make sure Cain died for good this time. He got up and started walking toward the door, an IV line unhooking from his arm as he did. A hospital gown wasn't the ideal outfit for a fight, naturally, but Amenadiel had been seen in worse, and he'd have time to change at Lux after Cain was dead. "I have to save Chloe," he said.

A smaller woman ran into the room from behind him, standing in the way. "You need to recover. You've just had major surgery. There were over three hundred bullets in your wings and back, and you've lost a massive amount of blood. You shouldn't even be standing."

"Benefits of immortality. I'll be fine; Chloe needs me." But she doesn't want me, he left unsaid. He'd bow out gracefully from her life, just as soon as he ensured her safety. Hell needed a king, and he'd been on vacation entirely too long.

"We've got our best people working to find Miss Decker and ensure her safety. Please, lie down and recover. She's going to be safe."

As she continued to try and block his exit, Lucifer's eyes flashed with fury. He pushed her out of the way, saying, "Your best people have no bloody idea what they're dealing with."

The doctor didn't flee in terror, curl up in on herself, or even scream. Lucifer was confused; most people who saw the hellfire in his eyes at least screamed. Instead, she nodded over his shoulder to the green creature, and Lucifer felt a searing sensation in his back before losing consciousness again.


	2. Umbra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Lucifer. The winged guy from earlier. He's got some sort of mind power, makes you tell the truth. He asked me what I wanted most in life, and I just about slipped and told him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which: Lucifer makes bad decisions, Sheppard has Todd wrapped around her finger, and Todd makes worse decisions than Lucifer.
> 
> Credit to my amazing betas claudiapriscus and SolUnderscore!

Waking up to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling was starting to become a habit for Lucifer. This time, there was only one window, high above him. The room was furnished lightly, with two chairs and a table. He immediately got up and tried to open the door. There wasn't a noticeable lock, but he reached out with his thoughts anyway, willing it to open. Nothing happened as far as he could tell, but he was surprised to get a reply.

 _< biohazard lockout, access denied>,_ the almost musical voice responded to his mental demand. Did a bloody door just talk to him?

 _Who are you?_ the Devil asked back, still in his head.

_< unsure if communication with suspected biohazards is a wise course of action>_

_Surely you can at least tell me your name._

_< atlantis, metropolitan starcraft class two iteration twelve>_

_Well, Atlantis, I'm Lucifer._

_< lucifer!_> it replied, with an image of a light shining into darkness. < _you have a symbolic designation >_

_Yes, I suppose. Why am I here?_

< _you are in an isolation chamber because you are a suspected biohazard >_

_I'm not a bloody biohazard, you can let me out._

_< unsure if suspected biohazard can be trusted regarding biohazard status> _

_That's not the point, damnit. Listen. Atlantis, what is it you desire?_

_< my objective is the safety and well-being of my inhabitants>_

_No, not your objective. Your desire, Atlantis. What do you want in life?_

There was a significant delay, and Lucifer doubted his ability would even work on what was clearly a computer, but eventually Atlantis replied.

< _i want to never be alone again >_

_I'm immortal, you know. I could arrange company for you through the millennia if you let me out._

< _immortality is highly unlikely >_

The door was hopeless, Lucifer thought. This was only a minor setback, though. It would take more than metal walls and locked doors to trap the Devil. He stretched his wings out to their full length, ready to take a quick jaunt to Hell, and pushed with all his strength against the fabric of reality. Every part of him was tense; he hated using Hell as a shortcut. It gave the demons ideas. As he left the floor of the room, however, it wasn't the ashen skies of Hell that greeted him. First Lucifer's face, then the rest of his body, hit the observation window with a resounding thud.

* * *

Tablet in hand, John went to confront their newest mystery in Isolation Two. She thought _open_ at the door, and Atlantis obliged. Lucifer was sitting on the floor motionless, staring beyond John into empty space. His eyes flickered and glowed a faint red, like he was on fire inside, but no other emotion was displayed on the alien's face. John picked up a chair, turned it so the back faced Lucifer, and sat backwards in it. If Morningstar noticed, he certainly didn't give any indication of it. John had time; she'd wait it out if she had to. She took out her tablet and started on the paperwork she'd been putting off for the past few days. McKay was - as always - chronically behind on his requisitions and reports, and after a few emails with a bit less politeness than usual, she heard a cough. Looking up, Lucifer's eyes were back to human normal.  
"I don't suppose I get a lawyer," Morningstar said with a bitter chuckle.

"Nope."

"I'll cooperate, do whatever you ask. All I ask in return is that you keep Detective Decker safe."

"You know, that's the interesting part. Our investigations turned up nothing. Nobody named Chloe Decker has ever been employed by the Los Angeles Police Department."

At this, Lucifer fell silent, his eyes returning to their fiery thousand-yard stare. That was fine. If there was anything Atlantis guaranteed, it was paperwork. Sheppard could be here all day, all week even if she took breaks for food and sleep.

She was still waiting for Lucifer to say anything at all when the lights dimmed and a star chart was projected above them. ' _Lantis? What's going on?_

_< lucifer asked to see the stars>  
_

_He talked to you?  
_

_< yes! he is confused and lost; unsure he is a threat>_

_I know, 'Lantis. Sometimes things aren't so black and white. Could you shut off the star chart for me?_

_< yes, caretaker>_

The map dimmed and faded out, and the lights returned. Lucifer stared at John. "Are you absolutely sure that chart was correct?"

"I'm not an astrophysicist, but if 'Lantis showed them to you, I believe her. Why do you ask?"

"They're all wrong. That's not where I put them."

"Where you put them?"

"Yes. When I made the stars, that's not where I put them. The stars are all wrong here. They weren't wrong yesterday. What happened while I was unconscious?"

"We can put a pin in that for a minute, Mr. Morningstar. You do realize that you've just claimed you created the Pegasus galaxy, right?"

"No, actually. I created _all_ the galaxies."

Great. Another egotistical maniac. Why was it that every time someone got a tiny bit of power, they started demanding worship? Ori, Goa'uld, even the Asgard had done it. Technology didn't make people gods. At least the Ancients had known better.

"How often do people actually fall for that, 'Lucifer'?"

"Fall for what, John?"

"Your whole 'I created all the stars, worship me' schtick."

"I didn't ask you to worship me."

"That's what you wanted, though, right?"

"Absolutely not. If there's anything I can't stand, it's those bloody Satanists."

"So why take on the identity of a religious figure?"

"I haven't _taken on_ anything, John. If anything, religion took on _my_ bloody identity. Diluted it, even. I didn't ask to be the devil, you know."

John sighed. How committed did the guy have to be? "You didn't ask to be the devil."

"No. You humans put that one on me. You've given me almost all of my little nicknames over the centuries. Beelzebub, the Adversary, the Devil, Satan, Old Scratch, Prince of Lies-" his eyes darkened from a flickering candle into a raging inferno - "when I have never once lied to anyone, no. It's you lot that put all that on me. You and my father."

"Okay, so you don't want worship, you don't want to be the devil, what do you want?"

"That's traditionally my line, you know."

"What?"

"That's my question. What is it you desire?"

John could feel it, the way her mind was rushing to answer. What was Lucifer doing? Her mind wasn't her own anymore, and the words just ran out of her mouth. "I want to be free."

Lucifer grinned. "A man after my own heart. But that's a cop-out answer. You're very good at this, you know. It figures; you'd naturally be one of the complicated ones."

No. _No._ John wasn't going to let some alien pretending to be a god take Atlantis away from her. Her words were still hers; maybe she could twist the wording? "I want to be here in Atlantis, to be a pilot, to fly."

"And?"

No. She could fight this. She _had to fight this._

"And you're going to get _out of my head!_ " she yelled.

Lucifer's eyes widened as Sheppard stormed out of the room, sealing the door behind herself.

* * *

Todd was exactly where he always was on Thursdays: waiting outside Sheppard's quarters. Wraith culture hadn't exactly developed the concept of "video games" the way humans had, and he had discovered that the point of the activity was not the game itself. Most of these video games were too similar for that. The point was socializing, and Todd had made a standing appointment with the Lantean colonel to do exactly that. John seemed to get as much enjoyment out of it as Todd did; the colonel was about the only person Todd had ever met that had been as enigmatic as he was. After the first time Todd had fed on her, though, he'd found the reason for her secrecy. After he'd laid his feeding hand on Sheppard's chest, as the years of the Lantean's life flowed into the Wraith, so did her thoughts. The same had happened when Todd had given John that life back; his thoughts had flowed back into hers. Todd didn't quite understand why John had determined she wasn't male. He did, however, know she was a woman, and she knew that he knew.

Todd was a reasonable Wraith, and not the sort to betray trust lightly. He didn't know why John kept her identity a secret, but he didn't have to know to understand. She was something more than an ally to him; she was a friend. She was also late. He was about to call for her on the radio, to see if she was okay, when Sheppard appeared at the end of the hallway. Her face was as dark as Todd had ever seen it, and he had tortured her once. She stormed past the Wraith and into her room, and the door didn't close behind her. Todd slipped in quietly, sitting on the couch next to John, not saying a word. The colonel shivered, leaning into Todd, and started to cry.

A human crying on his shoulder was a new experience for the Wraith. He'd seen many humans cry over the thousands of years of his life, usually while begging for mercy. This was different. John was burying her face in his shoulder, and Todd knew that this was something nobody was meant to see. This was edging on the territory of their unspoken agreement. He locked the door and put his arm around the sobbing colonel, reminding her that no matter what had just occurred, she was not alone.

"I'm sorry, you're probably not the 'shoulder to cry on' type," she said softly after a moment.

"Sheppard, my shoulder has never been put to better use. Your well-being is of some concern to me, considering our friendship."

John laughed weakly. "Why?"

"Why are we friends? Or why have I been wasting my shoulder for the better part of twelve millennia? I am now wondering about the second one myself."

John punched him playfully in the shoulder, and he continued, theatricality seeping into his voice and gestures. "Wraith have been misguided about human women for as long as I have lived. Instead of feeding upon them, we should have been offering them comfort and playing video games with them the entire time. I see it clearly now, Sheppard, the great mistake of my species."

This earned the Wraith commander another punch. "No, you asshole. Why keep my secret all this time?"

"I have kept it because it is yours," the Wraith said softly.

This seemed to bring the colonel into her usual spirits, and her voice slipped back into its distinctive drawl. "You say the damnedest things."

He asked her, "What happened?"

"Lucifer. The winged guy from earlier. He's got some sort of mind power, makes you tell the truth. He asked me what I wanted most in life, and I just about slipped and told him."  


Yes, Todd supposed that would certainly do it. Violating another's mind like that was commonplace among the Wraith, but like most things that were commonplace among the Wraith, he'd developed a severe distaste for it. His friendship with the humans was rubbing their morality off on him, he supposed. He got up and started John's Xbox, handing her a controller and taking one for himself. First, he would do as he always did, and let Sheppard utterly dominate him in a game of Halo 2. After that, he owed this Lucifer a less friendly kind of visit.


	3. Noctis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Was Sankara a traitor? Washington? Bolívar? Robespierre? Me? Was I a traitor in that moment when I turned to my father and said those words? Non serviam. I will not serve, Richard. Will you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which: Todd started it, John makes a deal with the Devil, Lucifer tempts Woolsey, and I commit to at least two updates a week.
> 
> Thanks as always to my amazing betas, claudiapriscus and SolUnderscore!

For a being literally billions of years old, Lucifer was excellent with technology. More so, given that instead of some incredibly advanced alien operating system like he'd expected, Sheppard's discarded computer ran on Windows Vista. He was trapped on an alien planet, the stars were wrong, Chloe had rejected him, and there was no alcohol. At the very least, the Devil was determined to find some decent pornography. Unfortunately, Sheppard's computer was squeaky clean. Lucifer didn't care about the personnel reports, the supply requisitions, or any of that. He wanted to know about John Sheppard, the man who could resist him. His official Air Force file was cryptic; he'd been deployed in Afghanistan, then Antarctica, then here in the Pegasus galaxy. Psychological exams seemed to all say the same thing: he was smart enough that he was gaming them, and they wouldn't get anything useful out of him. Whatever he was hiding, it was hidden well.

Lucifer had another idea. _Atlantis,_ he called mentally, _what do you know about John Sheppard?_

_< not allowed to communicate with you>_

_Under John's orders?_

_< affirm>_

_Is he in charge here?_

_< she has advised me not to communicate with you>_

_She?_

_< not allowed to communicate with you>_

Sheppard was a military officer. It started making sense in Lucifer's mind. The American military had always been so far backwards about these things; of course. I want to be here in Atlantis, to be a pilot, to fly, John had said. If John's secret were that he was in fact she, the military would not hesitate to remove her from her position. This would not do; this would not do at all. Lucifer would not stand idly by and allow this injustice. First, though, he probably owed Sheppard an apology. He'd learned by working with Chloe that people usually want an apology before they want help. Getting up and straightening his clothes, he decided he would at least notify the colonel of her missing computer.

* * *

From: jsheppard@mail.atl  
To: @staff  


Hello,

  
Colonel Sheppard left this computer in the isolation chamber. Does someone need it?

-😈

* * *

Todd was losing intentionally at a friendly game of Halo, and he thought it was working. John's expressions, her movements, seemed lighter. He heard a sound from John's laptop, and the two of them halted their game to check the staff-wide email. John's face went pale. "He's got my computer. Todd, he's got my _computer!_ "

Todd set down the controller gently, placing a hand on John's shoulder. "I will handle this. You should not have to face him again."

John nodded. "Alive, Todd."

With a hiss, Todd said, "Because you wish it," and marched out of the room. Isolation was across the city, and again the humans gave Todd startled looks as he walked with a purpose to the teleporters. It was known that he was not their enemy, but they still reacted to the sight of a Wraith in their midst with fear. Common sense, really. He would have the same reaction were he human. But the thought refused to pass; he would never harm any of them. A few years ago, he'd have been upset they weren't showing more fear, and now he was trying to push away the thought that they shouldn't be afraid of him at all. Atlantis had made him soft. Sheppard had made him soft. He should want to kill her for that, drain every last second of life from her body and throw away the useless husk. That would be the Wraith way to handle this situation. Kill the problem, kill any witnesses, maybe compose a poem about all the killing he was doing. The fact was, though, that Todd was finding himself less and less Wraith recently. Not bodily, thank the traitorous creators, but mentally. He was letting the Lanteans give him this name, "Todd," as if it were his own. He was even beginning to think of himself that way. The man in the isolation room would probably be his closest chance to indulge his darker impulses for a while. As he opened the door, he grinned. This would be something to relish.

"John," came Lucifer's voice as the door opened, and the winged creature's eyes widened in surprise as he found the ancient Wraith standing there instead.

"Not quite," Todd hissed, letting shadows slip into the air around him. He didn't often use this particular parlor trick, but John had said she wanted him alive, not sane. "You were trying to break Sheppard, to find his secrets. Perhaps you would enjoy some of mine."

He moved fast enough that to a human observer, he would be a blur of darkness, going for Lucifer's chest with his hand. He had forgotten, however, that Lucifer was not human. His arm was caught in Lucifer's hand, and the man was beside him, eyes smouldering with inner fire and a wry grin on his face. "Is this how we're playing it then?" he said, his tone of voice almost tired-sounding.

The Wraith hissed, turning to sweep Lucifer's legs from underneath him, and suddenly the winged one was on the other side of him, gripping his other arm. Lucifer let go of Todd's arms just long enough for his foot to be planted firmly into the Wraith's chest, and Todd flew across the room from the force of it. Not human at all; Todd matched Lucifer's wry grin before he lunged again. The two of them blurred together, moving at speeds just past human recognition as they fought. Furniture flew and the walls rang with the amounts of force being thrown about. If the room had been constructed from anything less, the floor would have dents in it from the blows the Wraith and the angel were throwing. As it was, no visible damage was done, but a Marine in the hallway heard the noise and ran to the observation room, followed quickly by more Marines and the science staff.

* * *

Sheppard walked into the observation room to find she couldn't see a thing. It was jam packed with people, yelling at one another, until the colonel asked Atlantis to amplify her voice through the room's speakers. "Stand down!" she yelled, and the shouting quickly ceased, members of the military snapping to attention. They cleared a path for her to the window, where Radek Zelenka was standing with a notepad and a mountain of cash in every denomination and nationality Sheppard knew and several she didn't. "Zelenka?" she asked pointedly.  
"The angel is fighting your Wraith, Colonel," the Czech replied.

The fighting was obvious, and as Sheppard watched the motion of the two figures blur and resolve and blur again, she corrected Zelenka. "There's no such thing as angels."  
The scientist snorted. "Contrary to Rodney's repeated statements, I am not idiot. However, what else do you propose to call species that is simply man, but stronger and with wings?"

Sheppard had to concede the point. In the moments where Lucifer was clearly visible, he reminded her of nothing so much as a wrathful angel from the old stories. The fight was loud enough that she wondered idly what kind of damage they were doing to her city, before it hit her. They were going to break her city. She turned to Radek with a growl. "What are the odds?"

"Sorry, Sheppard. Three to one for the angel."

She reached into her pants for her wallet, pulled out twenty dollars, fifty euros and a solitary British pound, slapping the cash into Zelenka's hand a little bit harder than necessary.

"All on the Wraith?" Zelenka said with a knowing smile.  
Her eyes narrowed as she said, "All on me."

Radek chuckled and wrote her bet down as she left the observation room.

A Wraith stun rifle slung over her shoulder, John strolled casually into the room and shot both combatants. She dragged the unconscious miscreants to opposite sides of the room before putting her chair back where it was supposed to be and picking up the smashed pieces of her computer. Her rifle was leveled at Lucifer when she heard the sound of a stirring Wraith behind her. "No, Todd," she said. "Sit back down. When I'm done with our angel here, you and I are going to have a talk about appropriate levels of force against a prisoner." There was a hiss of annoyance in response, but she knew Todd would listen. He always did. It was Lucifer she really had to worry about.

The angel in front of her started to wake up, and she smirked at him, keeping the stunner aimed squarely at his chest. "Hi," she said.

"He started it," Lucifer replied.

John shot him again. Todd laughed, but a quick glare from the colonel put a stop to that quickly. After a few moments, Lucifer sputtered awake. He was about to say something when John interrupted. "This thing has a whole lotta charge left in it, and right now I don't need reasons to shoot you. I need reasons not to. So go on ahead and give me one good reason why I shouldn't empty my stunner into you and leave you drooling on the floor for a month."

The angel hesitated briefly before answering. "I was wrong."

She nodded, motioning with her other hand to continue.

"I was wrong to violate your mind the way I did, and I understand why you needed to keep some things private for the safety of your city, _Colonel_."

The tone of Lucifer's voice, the subtle emphasis on John's rank, they added up. Lucifer knew. And if John were Ronon, or Teyla, or even Rodney, it wouldn't matter. Atlantis didn't have laws, after all. There was just an unwritten understanding that wherever you were from, your laws still applied here. John wasn't Satedan, Athosian, or Canadian, though. She was American, and the American military didn't accept gay officers, let alone transgender ones. She couldn't quite decide if it was amusing or terrifying how people three million light years away had so much power over her life. As in most Sword of Damocles situations, though, she was leaning towards terrified. She walked up to Lucifer, and under the pretext of helping him up, whispered, "You're dead wrong if you think I'll bend because you know my secret."

The angel straightened his suit lapel and looked at her with a curious and compassionate expression. "I hadn't even thought to try that, John. I want to help."

"Help."

"Yes, John. Help. This whole situation reminds me of my father, and I'd rather put a stop to it."

"Your father?"

"Precisely, Colonel. You should be free to follow your desires, and that's most certainly not the case. I can help give you that freedom."

"Oh, out of the goodness of your heart I presume?"

The Devil laughed. "Not quite. You'll simply owe me a favor in return."

Half a grin and half a smirk on her face, the colonel said, "So what, the Devil goes by Mafia rules? Do I call you Don Beelzebub?"

"Where do you think they got it from, John?"

She shook her head. "I won't do anything that puts the city at risk."

"I would never ask you to, John. This isn't about coercion. I'll only use your favor in our mutual benefit, even if you may not see it at the time."

For whatever reason, John believed him. Her arm outstretched, she said "Deal."

"Deal," the Devil said with a smile as he shook her hand. "Now, about that favor..."

* * *

Richard Woolsey's office was sparsely decorated, but Lucifer definitely approved of the decor it did have. It reminded him of his own penthouse with its open sightlines and ancient artifacts. It was almost a serene enough environment to not be ruined by the burly guards pointing space guns at him. Almost. The view out the windows, though, was to die for. The wide open spaces, crystalline architecture, and beautiful stained crystal windows were reminiscent of both the Silver City and Hell. The more of Atlantis Lucifer saw, the more comfortable he was here - other than the aforementioned space guns. And as he was thinking about how beautiful the city was, it sang joyfully back to him saying it was glad he thought so.

Richard, the city's leader, looked him over appraisingly. Lucifer wondered what exactly the human was looking for, but apparently he'd found it, because Richard extended his hand in the traditional American greeting. Lucifer grinned and shook it.

"Mr. Morningstar. Colonel Sheppard told me you wanted to see me."

"I did. Did you know how beautiful your city is?"

Woolsey smiled and gestured for Lucifer to sit down, taking a seat himself. "You wouldn't be the first to tell me that, no, but sometimes it's good to have a reminder."

This was the important part. Lucifer dialed up the charm as high as he could. He couldn't afford to have this rejected out of hand. "How many of them have told you that you're wasting it?"

A wry grin crossed the expedition leader's face. "Oh, there've been a few. Usually their suggestions for improvement came at gunpoint."

"There's no violence here, Richard. I don't plan a coup. In fact, a military coup is the opposite of what you need."

"Oh? Well, do enlighten me, dear Devil."

"You have a city here, but you're not running a city. You're running an outpost."

"In what sense?"

"This city has about two hundred people in it, all but two of which are from Earth. You ostensibly make your decisions here on behalf of the governments of Earth, even though they're three million light years away. You get your supplies and personnel almost exclusively from Earth."

"Your point, Mr. Morningstar?"

"Well, I've read your reports. The ones I could get from John's computer anyway. Your people do a very, very good job of sanitizing those, and if I were anyone else, I would have missed it. Millennia in Hell teach you every possible way people have to hide their secrets, though. And do you want to know the thing I've learned?"

Woolsey gestured for him to continue.

"My answer comes in the form of a question. When you were able to stay on Earth permanently, you chose instead to return here. Why?"

Woolsey was clearly about to lie, because when he answered, his eyes widened in surprise at his own words. "We wanted to go home."

Lucifer smiled gently. "It's alright, Richard. It's quite impossible to lie to me. And you're quite right. The text between the lines of every single report says the same thing. Atlantis is home to these people, not Earth. So here's my proposal for you. Let me help you make Atlantis a great Pegasus city, instead of a good Earth outpost."

"You're asking me to turn traitor against Earth," Woolsey said with a frown. "Not your best temptation, if you are the Devil."

"Was Sankara a traitor? Washington? Bolívar? Robespierre? _Me?_ Was I a traitor in that moment when I turned to my father and said those words? _Non serviam._ I will not serve, Richard. Will you?"


	4. Diluculum I: Errabundus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know, we've never quite been introduced. Lucifer Morningstar, Atlantis prosecuting investigator."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which: John sees the Devil's face, Lucifer catches a case, and Todd is rudely interrupted.
> 
> Credit to my beta readers, claudiapriscus and SolUnderscore!

John was expecting to be called up to Woolsey's office after the expedition leader's little chat with Lucifer. She hadn't expected the Marine guards to be absent, nor to see Lucifer and Woolsey flipping through law books acting like friends. And she definitely didn't expect Woolsey to look at her with a smile and ask her to show the Devil to an appropriate set of quarters and give him the standard orientation. Orders being orders, though, she simply nodded and gestured to Lucifer to follow her. They walked through the central tower of the city, out onto the balconies, and as soon as John had some privacy she shoved Lucifer against a wall. "What the hell did you do to him?" she demanded fiercely.  
"Who, Richard?"  
"No, John F. Kennedy. _Yes, Richard!_ You messed with his head!"  
" Yes, Colonel, I absolutely did. But I don't coerce, and I can't make anyone do something they truly don't want to do. What I do is draw people's own desires out and try to give them perspective."  
"So what did you do to him?"  
"I smiled at him and asked him why your expedition returned to Pegasus."  
"You asked him a question, and that made him get all buddy buddy with you."  
"The question didn't, no. The answer did."  
"You gonna share with the class?"  
"It's simple, John. You all wanted to come home."

John sighed and let the Devil go. He was going to cause a lot of trouble with this habit of his. Revealing truths that were hidden for a reason would upset the careful balance she'd worked very hard to maintain. All cities ran on secrets; Atlantis ran on plausible deniability. If it were openly acknowledged that the people here thought of Atlantis as home and Earth as a necessary evil, they'd all be recalled and banned from ever setting foot here again. Which probably didn't help people view Earth more positively, if Sheppard really thought about it. And of course, the _Daedalus_ was docked right now. The crew there were somewhere in the middle, spending half their time here and half on Earth. She'd have to take one for the team and watch Lucifer closely.

She ran to catch up with Lucifer, who'd apparently already picked out his quarters. "Colonel, where's Tower 34B? Atlantis says there are suitable accomodations there."  
That was the same tower as her quarters, and Todd's. Good. She showed Lucifer on a map of the city, and he started to unfurl his wings. "No, damnit, we're going to walk!" she said with exasperation.  
"Across the entire city?"  
Sighing, she took his hand and guided him to the nearest transporter.  
"Yes, it's a very nice closet, but weren't we going to go somewhere else? Or were you looking for a different kind of journey altogether? I can take you to places you never thought you'd go." The grin on his face was certainly appropriately devilish as he propositioned her in front of the whole control room. She went bright red, but kept her vaunted cool as she said, "No thanks, Satan. Not my type."

As she was showing Lucifer how the transporters worked, a Marine ran up to her and saluted, saying, "Colonel! You're needed on the east pier; there's been a murder." Was it just her, or did Lucifer's eyes sparkle a little when he heard that word?

* * *

Lucifer was almost giddy. Of course, it was absolutely awful for the poor murdered chap, but this meant he had a case. He knew very well that a case was the absolute best way to distract him from... well. He wasn't thinking about it. Not thinking about _her_. Just about justice, of course. Justice for whatever unlucky fellow he was about to encounter. As always, his motives were unimpeachable. Besides, everything was fine. John was an absolute delight to mess with, the city was beautiful, and he was going to raise an appropriate amount of hell. Sure, he was trapped in another universe, just like he'd done to his mother, and of course the only woman he'd ever loved- _no_. No, he was not thinking about it. He was Lucifer Morningstar, Lord of Hell, and he had a sinner to punish.

He trailed behind John all the way to a lab on the other side of the city, and for some reason the colonel let him. She was no detective, that was for sure. As far as Lucifer could tell, the city didn't _have_ detectives. Or anything approaching a police force at all. Considering there wasn't even a coherent legal code in force here, policing would be difficult to achieve. Still, he steeled himself to investigate, and followed John silently.

In the lab, there were a few scientists crowded around an office door, computers everywhere, and soldiers guarding the whole thing. Lucifer pushed his way into the office, where a tall man with dark hair and a rounded face was lying on the ground with a knife in his chest. Two soldiers were about to pick up the body, and Lucifer felt the air around him heat up suddenly as he growled at them. "Get. Out." With a single look at him, the soldiers did exactly that.  
John ran in behind him, staring disconcertedly at Lucifer's red, burnt form. "Uh, Lucifer? What are you doing?" she asked with a calm in her voice that wasn't reflected in her body language.  
"They were about to contaminate my crime scene," the Devil replied.  
"Y- your what?" the colonel stuttered.  
"My crime scene. Unless, of course, you have anyone else with five years as a homicide investigator and an inbuilt desire to punish the guilty?"  
"No, we don't, but that doesn't mean-"  
"Yes. It does. Now either make yourself useful or leave. I've a murder to solve.”  
John sighed softly, something Lucifer took to mean he'd won, and waved the soldiers and scientists away. "What do you need?"  
"To start? A good autopsy from your medical examiner, quality photographs of the crime scene, interviews with everyone that knew the victim or worked in this office, and a large bottle of whisky."  
"I can get you everything but the booze."

Lucifer sighed, taking in the victim's uniform (Kavanaugh, BC-304 _Daedalus_ ), the murder weapon (a military style knife), and the office, which didn't belong to the victim. The nameplate said "R. Zelenka PhD." He thought aloud, "We'll have to start with this Dr. Zelenka." When he turned around, the colonel was twitchier than he'd seen her before, hand never more than three inches from her gun. "Could you, ah, change back?" she said quietly.

Back? He looked down at his hand and saw the red, scarred flesh. Instantly it shifted back to his preferred form, unmarred and impeccable. John had seen him. Really _seen_ him. She hadn't shot him, hadn't screamed, hadn't even run. She'd carried on a conversation like everything was normal, with him standing there as the literal Devil. That didn't just happen. Nobody would be able to do that. Lucifer backed away slowly, asking John softly, "Are you alright, Colonel?"  
"Yeah, I'm alright. That, ah, looked like it hurt."  
"What?"  
"Had a buddy in Afghanistan, got doused in oil and set on fire. He looked a lot like that when it was all done. Or his body did, anyway. Does it hurt?"  
Was that concern in the colonel's eyes? He was the Devil; he was a monster. Not particularly worthy of love, compassion, or concern. He wanted to snap at her, to say that of course it did. Instead, he found himself saying quietly, "It was a long time ago."  
Sheppard frowned. "That's not an answer."  
"Yes," the Devil replied, voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, it hurts."

* * *

"Again." The console obliged, running another simulation until the point where the entire simulated cell culture collapsed.  
Todd changed a few lines of code. "Again." The simulation lasted a few more seconds, but failed in the end. They all failed in the end. This was to be his life's work, finding a peaceful solution for his people. Creating a vaccine so that feeding on humans wouldn't result in their deaths, so that Wraith would no longer need to do it so often, creating a symbiosis between humans and Wraith where there was only predation now. He knew it had to be possible somehow. As he altered the enzymes slowly, he kept saying it aloud. "Again."  
"Again."  
"Again."  
He barely even noticed when the door to the lab he shared with Dr. Keller opened and a team of Marines streamed in; he was busy. When one of them tapped him on the shoulder and he spun around with a much softer hiss than he'd have used three years ago, half of the Marines had rifles leveled at him. His hissed sigh continued. "Really? What unfortunate event am I to take the blame for this time?"  
The Marine in charge at least had the grace to look remorseful as he said, "Sorry, Todd. You know the regs."  
"Yes. I am... intimately familiar."  
He let them march him to Atlantis' brig at gunpoint, let them lock him in a cell, let them treat him once more like the enemy he'd never stop being in some of their minds. And he put up with it all because there was a future for the Wraith here. There was a future for _him_ here. 

As he waited in his cell, he could hear arguing coming from the old _accusator_ 's office. He didn't think that office had been used for ten millenia. Eventually, the arguing subsided into more friendly tones, and Lucifer walked Dr. Zelenka out of the office with a smile. " _Nezapomeňte se na mě podívat později._ "  
The physicist clapped him on the back as he left. " _Nemožné. Budu tam._ ”  
Lucifer turned to Todd with a frown on his face. "Why are you here? I didn't ask anyone to bring you in, let alone lock you in a cell."  
"You," the Wraith growled.  
"Me," Lucifer agreed with a smile. "You know, we've never quite been introduced. Lucifer Morningstar, Atlantis prosecuting investigator."  
"And how long have you been an _accusator_ , warbird?"  
A glint of flame passed across Lucifer's eyes as he said, "Only since the beginning of time. Why are you being detained?"  
"I am Wraith."  
"Yes, clearly. But why detain you?"  
"The Wraith are the enemies of humanity, and clearly some misfortune has befallen Atlantis, so I am required to be the first suspect."  
Lucifer's masklike grin dropped. "A scapegoat for all their sins."  
"Inevitably."  
The forcefield around the bars of Todd's cell disengaged, and the door swung open. Lucifer beckoned to Todd to follow him. "Come on. My office is bound to be more comfortable than a holding cell, and Dr. Radek will be back soon with some liquor. I have a feeling we got off on an entirely wrong foot, you and I."


	5. Diluculum II: Quaeritis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Never too late, John. Nothing is ever too late. You may need to see the quartermaster about a new uniform, though. Yours is probably ill fitted now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which: Todd finds a kindred spirit, Lucifer drinks whisky and makes bad choices, and John is a placid lake.
> 
> Credit to my amazing beta readers, claudiapriscus and SolUnderscore!

Lucifer's office, Todd had to admit, was in fact rather comfortable. He'd never actually been inside an _accusator_ 's office before, even with as many times in Lantean holding cells as he'd accrued. As it turns out, they didn't feel the need to prosecute or provide a trial for the heinous crime of being Wraith. Criminals, accused though they were, were Lantean, and this afforded them rights that Todd had never had. The office was arranged in an L shape, with a waiting area in front, a work area further back with consoles and desks, and around a corner several Lantean interrogation rooms. Lucifer hadn't put Todd in any of the interrogation rooms, though. He'd simply gestured to Todd to sit on one of the couches, then walked over to the desk he seemed to have claimed as his own to send a message. "So," he called softly, "I never did get your name."

"The humans call me Todd."  
"Do they now. And what do you call yourself?"  
"Does it matter?"  
Lucifer walked over and sat on the couch across from Todd with a curious look on his face. "Yes, I'd say so. Allowing others to decide who you are isn't a very good thing."  
With a hissing laugh, Todd replied, "The Queen who bore me did not name me Todd. The name she gave me is infamous among my people. I have accomplished glorious things, warbird. Great and glorious works to despair. Many worlds lie fallow at my hand; civilisations snuffed out like flames because I decided it was to be so. My name is passed among hatchlings as an inspiration toward future genocide."  
The hard lines of Lucifer's face softened. "And you would rather not remember the things you've done."  
"Remember? Warbird, I cannot ever forget. But here, I am known as Todd, and my accomplishments are measured in alliances preserved, in strides toward peace in this galaxy. That is my name."  
"So it is," the _accusator_ agreed genially. "You know, we have a lot in common."  
"Oh?"  
"My story starts about six and a half billion years ago, with my parents. Two right bastards, they were, but omnipotent ones. They got together, had celestial intercourse, and created my universe. Not this universe, mind you. Just mine. They decided it was too empty, and so naturally they had children..."

As the angel went on to describe his life before humanity's existence, the joy of lighting stars giving way to the stubbornness of rebellion against his father, Todd listened patiently. Lucifer's millennia in Hell paralleled his own, inflicting pain and misery upon those that were deemed unworthy. He talked about how he'd become the symbol for evil, for chaos and destruction and death, on Earth, and how through all of it he never hid who he was. Todd realized two things. First, Lucifer was self absorbed beyond the point of even most Queens he'd encountered. Second, he and the angel were very much alike, and there was some comfort in knowing that he wasn't alone in his quest to redefine himself. The Wraith was about to ask Lucifer to talk about his life on Earth when there was a knock at the door.  
"Alright, Devil, deal is deal. Here, take your whisky," said Dr. Zelenka, carrying three containers conspicuously marked "FUEL" into the room. "Best liquor in Pegasus, guaranteed," he said with a grin.  
Lucifer took a bottle, eyebrow raised, and gestured to Dr. Zelenka that the third container was for Todd.  
"Do Wraith drink?" the physicist asked.  
"We do when the occasion merits."  
" _Ze všech zmeškaných příležitostí_ , the open markets," the Czech grumbled as he handed Todd the container. "You could not have mentioned this earlier?"  
"The subject was never approached, doctor," Todd said.  
Lucifer hummed in delight. "Dr. Radek, this is simply delightful. Please, sit, tell me how the best whisky I've had in two centuries got into this petrol can."  
The scientist sat down with a wild grin on his face. "Ah, is team effort. Evan and his team have farm off-world..."

* * *

Armed with medical reports from Keller and high resolution photos of the crime scene, John headed to the office Lucifer had appropriated. She was annoyed at the way Atlantis just rolled over whenever Lucifer asked. It wasn't jealousy, not really. She wasn't upset that 'Lantis liked the Devil better than her, not really. It wasn't even true. 'Lantis definitely still liked her better. It was just that the city had absolutely no backbone. It just did what it thought would make him happy, like a puppy. She walked in, expecting to find Lucifer somewhere. Instead, Todd was at one of the consoles, flipping through some kind of data, and there was a woman John hadn't met yet. Maybe a new person on the Daedalus? She came closer to them, enough to hear the conversation. 

"I have had millennia of experience with fleeing humans. A sufficiently motivated human could run from the scene of the attack and reach the transporter within three minutes, well before the next shift," Todd was saying.  
The woman argued back, "The logs don't show anyone activating that transporter booth until after the start of that shift. The killer either used a different way out or never left at all."  
"Never left at all?"  
The woman turned around, her dark curly hair bobbing as she did. "Absolutely. I've had at least three cases where a murderer just stayed, pretended to be shocked like all the other bystanders, and almost got away with it."  
"Almost," the Wraith laughed.  
The woman grinned, her eyes flashing red as she did. "Almost."  
The hair, the accent, the eyes. Yep, definitely Lucifer. What kind of absolutely mental decision had that bastard made? She couldn't afford to lose her cool now, though. She put on her mask a bit more forcefully, a bit more deeply, than usual. What would John Sheppard, casual badass, do? Solve a murder now, commit one later.  
"There's a third option," she said. "The transporter didn't have to be activated for someone to get away using it."  
"How so?" the apparently-female Devil asked.  
"Well, the transporters switch whatever's in your booth with whatever is at the destination. The murderer could have hidden in the booth and waited for someone else to beam in, giving them a way out."  
"Diabolical, Colonel. I like it. So we look for the first person who beamed in, and search from there."  
"Todd, can I get a minute or two alone with Lucy here?"  
The Wraith nodded. "I have work that must be done. Perhaps later, warbird?"  
"Of course, Todd," the Devil answered as Todd left.  
"So, is that the autopsy report, John? Can I see it?"  
The colonel set her tablet down. Calmly. She was a lake, she was the ocean. Not a ripple on her surface. She motioned towards the couches, and Lucifer sat down. She steeled herself, saying calmly, "So, what's with the getup, Lucifer?"  
"Getup? You'd know better than I would. Your entire city is wearing these bloody awful outfits, and they're not even tailored. Alien spaceship city, bloody teleportation, and not a single tailor?"  
"It wasn't exactly a priority. And not at all what I meant."  
"Oh?"  
"I didn't know you could look like whatever you wanted."  
"I can't. Not in the way you're thinking."  
"So help me out with my thinking here, then. How's it all work? You just play mind games? Get me to reveal my deepest secrets, then just fuck with me? Just taunt me like that with your Devilish shape shifting? Let's just be a woman now and fuck with Sheppard, because _God only knows she hasn't been fucked with enough today?_ _Just rub in my face exactly what I'll **never, ever have**?_"

Okay. Maybe Lake Sheppard had a few pebbles dropped in it. A ripple or two.  
Lucifer's face froze. She'd clearly been about to say something, when she stopped. Sheppard just kept staring. Don't back down, don't step back. She'd be able to wait this immortal bastard out.

She didn't blink when Lucifer changed again. The Devil was sitting in front of her, burned, scarred, and... still female? The temperature in the room went up a few degrees, and Sheppard's stare was returned by the flames of Hell. "You think that little of me, John? You think it's all a part of my big plan to fuck with you?" The Queen of Hell laughed. "Colonel, I don't have any kind of plan right now. And to accuse me, of all people? Me? Do you get it? Do you understand, John?" The Devil dropped away, and it was just Lucifer again, her red eyes replaced with the deepest brown. "I know you want me back in Hell. You, my father, and everyone else under the sun. Thing is, I can't get back. You think I haven't tried? "  
"Whoa, Lucifer. Nobody said anything about hell."  
"The thing is," the Devil continued, "my wings don't take me there anymore, and" - she pulled out a pistol, held it against her head, and pulled the trigger - "I can't seem to bloody kill myself."  
Sheppard instinctively felt her thigh holster - empty, of course. Lucifer had just shot herself with John's gun, then slumped back into the chair. "Hey, let's not go talking about killin' ourselves. Why don't you just give the gun back, okay? We don't have to do anything stupid."  
"I'm not stupid, John. You don't have to keep me here. I get it. I get that you don't want me here either."  
John reached out and held Lucifer's hand in her own. "Yeah, actually. I do."

* * *

Just about bloody right. The wings, the power of creation, the hellfire, the Devil form, John had taken all that in stride. The fact that she wasn't limited to a single gender, oh no, that was the thing that tipped the scales. Lucifer sighed as she gave John her gun back. "No. No, you don't. You don't have to lie to me."

"Okay then," the Lantean said, "Truth for truth. I'm scared as hell of what you can do, right? Who wouldn't be? But you haven't done it. Not yet, and maybe not ever. Far as I can tell, the only thing you've done since you got here is try to help. You could kill everyone here, or a good part of them anyway, but instead you're trying to solve a murder, helping Woolsey write laws, and I assume you're doing something to help with my little problem too. So, no. I want you to stay here. Now it's your turn. Why rub it in like this?"  
"I'm not."  
"So the shapeshifting thing is..."  
"It's not usually conscious. My kind, we self actualize. When I feel like the punisher, the torturer, you see the Devil. When I don't, you see me as I am now."  
"And changing from a man to a woman?"  
"The same thing. My body becomes what I believe myself to be."  
"I understand. I'm sorry I lashed out like that. It's just tough, seeing you magically get the one thing I can't have. Even if I weren't going to be discharged, sent home, how would everyone else react? After 5 years here, just changing everything? It's just too late for me now."  
"Too late?"  
John's eyes, in that moment, were as dim as Lucifer had ever seen them. What had possibly happened to snuff out the hope inside her? The Devil didn't have that many rules, but her top two were no lying and no wasted potential. She got up, sat next to John, and put a hand to the colonel's face. "Nothing's ever too late, John. Ever," she said, pressing her lips against John's and applying just a little bit of the divinity that flowed through her veins. Power of creation, at her beck and call. This would be easy, right?

She wasn't omniscient like her Dad. She had no idea what John would have looked like were she assigned female at birth, but she had a fairly good guess. The eyes, the hair, those would stay. Hard angles reshaped themselves into gentler curves under the Devil's watchful gaze, and she was careful to mind the type of person John was. A soldier, a pilot, not a model or movie star. When John finally pushed Lucifer away, sputtering, she took a moment to admire her work. Yes, this would do nicely, she thought with a smirk. Deal accomplished.

"What the hell, Luc-" the colonel paused for a second before starting again. "This isn't my voice. What happened to my voice?"  
"Never too late, John. Nothing is ever too late. You may need to see the quartermaster about a new uniform, though. Yours is probably ill fitted now."  
"What did you do to me?"  
"Part one of our deal, dear colonel. You have what you desired."  
The colonel jumped out of her seat. "No. No, no, no. This can't happen. They'll take Atlantis from me. No!"  
Lucifer watched as John ran from the room, having what was clearly a panic attack. _Atlantis?_ she called mentally.  
_< yes, lucifer accusator?>_  
_You should tell Todd that Sheppard will need him shortly. I think he'd be more useful to her than I would._  
_< message relayed>_  
_My thanks, Atlantis._


	6. Diluculum III: Repertum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're going to be held here until we can deport you to Earth for trial."  
> "Deport? Don't you mean recall?"  
> "No, Lieutenant. I don't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which: John's obliviousness is noted by all, the Wraith have weird connotations with gender, and Lucifer interrogates a bunch of people.
> 
> Credit as always to my beta reader, SolUnderscore!

John Sheppard ran. One foot in front of the other, faster and faster and faster. Crystals and pillars and walls and doors blurred into one another and she was pretty sure she'd forgotten to breathe, because in one moment she was running on an exterior accessway, and in the next, she was leaning against the inside of the door to her quarters. Shit. The last time she'd blacked out like this was on the way to her father's funeral, and that wasn't something she wanted to relive again. Her legs were screaming at her, and she had no idea what to do, so she did what she always did. Taking a bath was the number one nonviolent way to reduce massive stress to manageable stress. She drew her bath, turned off her radio - it wasn't like she could answer anyway - and just let herself sink into the water.

No matter how much she tried not to think about it, she was absolutely thinking about it. The sensations flooding through her felt new, marvelous, and correct. She had breasts now. Hips, too. She'd imagined that feeling being more exciting than it was; right now, with all the changes, the biggest thing she felt was a profound sense of relief. Damn it. Lucifer had known exactly what she was doing when she did this. And wasn't it just like the Devil to give John absolutely no goddamn choice in the matter, simply bringing out the truth, forcing the issue. Lucifer had known, of course. As much as John hated this, as much as this was going to ruin absolutely everything, she couldn't possibly want to undo it. It was almost funny. All the changes felt like nothing so much as a massive burden off her chest. A sudden clarity, even. With a sigh, she got up and toweled off. There was a mirror here, one she absolutely hated but couldn't find a justification to remove, and she figured she'd at least take a look.

This was really _her_. The crazy part was that she didn't even think she looked much different, aside from some obvious changes. Her scars were all in the same places, her hair was still the same unruly mop - and somehow it looked cute on her? Lucifer hadn't given her some fantasy body, just hers. Not particularly curvy, but not flat either. Not muscular so much as toned. The lines and wrinkles and flaws were all still there, and so was her tattoo. There wasn't a single thing that didn't fit, that stuck out. Every single part of this new body was a hundred percent John Patrick Sheppard, and for the first time in a very long time, she was reconsidering that name. She dug through her dresser, underneath all her clothes, to find her forbidden stash. Right underneath her black USAF shirt and jeans lay her secret shame. The exact same shirt and jeans, but in a women's cut. She put them on, and they fit well, to her surprise. Was she still the same clothes size? Maybe she'd just been lucky. Either way, they'd be looking for her here. She had to find somewhere else to go, somewhere hidden. As she opened up the door, she ran right into Rodney, causing him to drop his tablet.  
"Oh, hey, Sheppard, just the person I needed to see," the physicist said.  
John froze. Rodney was looking right at her; what should she do? Maybe counting on the physicist's typical obliviousness would be the way to go. She put a hand on her hip, angling her head to the side, and said, "Rodney?"  
"So you know how I've been working on exploring and clearing the labs on the southwest pier?"  
Sheppard nodded. It seemed to be working so far.  
"I found a large complex labeled as a fluid dynamics lab on one of the top levels."  
"And..."  
"It's a swimming complex. Two huge pools, three smaller heated ones, and a sauna. An _Ancient sauna_ , Sheppard."  
"Okay, well, I'm glad you found it."  
"Glad I fo- come on! The whole team's off shift today, for the first time in three months, mind you, and Teyla brought Athosian beer. Todd's coming, let's go!"  
"Rodney, I can't."  
McKay looked apoplectic. "Can't or won't?"  
"Pick one! I don't even have anything to wear!"  
"You don't ha- oh, for the love of - just follow me, Colonel."

Rodney dragged John along behind him to his quarters and began rifling through his very unorganized drawers. "Here, take this one," he said, pulling out a burgundy two-piece swimsuit. "It was a gag gift from Cadman a couple years back, and you're probably the same size."

As Rodney threw the swimsuit at Sheppard, she was floored enough that she didn't catch it. "You noticed?"  
"Noticed what?"  
"When I suddenly switched genders. I thought you were just being clueless."  
"You switched genders? Are you a guy now?"  
"Wait, what?" Sheppard tried to say, before being interrupted by a tirade from McKay. "And I am not clueless. I am a highly trained, genius mind, and I have observational priorities. Just because things aren't important enough to warrant my attention, you assume I'm clueless, when I simply have better priorities. Now get changed, let's go!"  
Sheppard still didn't move. Had Rodney known the whole time? What about the rest of the team? "What's going on here, Rodney? Why are you acting like nothing's different?"  
The scientist just stared at Sheppard for a moment. "I'm not an idiot, Sheppard. And you're not as subtle as you think. The question was never 'Is John a woman?'. It was always 'Is she going to tell us?'."  
"You all knew?"  
"We're your friends, John. Of course we knew. Zelenka and I were both working on using Ancient tech to help your transition eventually. Guess I owe him a hundred Euros now."  
"It was Lucifer, actually. You owe _Lucifer_ a hundred euros, and I owe her a punch to the face."  
"Hah. That figures. Anyway, we knew, we care, stop making me talk about this and come join us for a pool party."  
"After Kavanaugh's murder?"  
"Why do you think I'm throwing the party?"  
Sheppard sighed, picked up the swimsuit, and followed Rodney out.

* * *

Todd was relaxing at the bottom of a pool; none of the humans joined him. He didn't exactly mind, of course. It just meant more heated pool for the Wraith. He purred as the hot water seeped into his pores. After a good hour of this, the Wraith felt a disturbance in the water above him, and he shifted in annoyance. Sitting up, he confronted the aquatic intruder to find John in a beautiful burgundy swimsuit, her body changed somehow. What happened to her? Had some Lantean technology altered his colonel's form? And if so, how had it gotten everything so right? This was-

"Todd?" the colonel said, poking his arm. "You okay there?"  
He'd been staring, and he'd been caught. Sheppard was - and there was no way this thought would ever leave Todd's head now - positively regal. "Yes, I am fine," he hissed quietly, well aware that John wouldn't react well to the "my queen" it took all his effort not to add.  
"Okay. I don't suddenly seem more delicious to you, do I? I don't have to worry about you  
eating me?"  
Todd cocked his head sideways. "I would lay down my life for you, John. You know this."  
Sheppard smiled brightly. As Todd saw this smile, he realized there was nothing he wouldn't do if John asked. Apparently, his policy of not bowing to any queen didn't apply if the queen in question was human.

John moved over to sit next to Todd, a move he approved of enthusiastically. Unfortunately, with the colonel here, the other humans apparently considered it safe enough to join in. His previously private pool became a crowded one too quickly for Todd to raise a word of protest. The humans all traded beverages amongst themselves, making jokes and telling stories. They insisted on hugging Sheppard and reassuring his queen that they still thought about her in exactly the same way. She seemed heartened by it, so Todd permitted them all their excessive pestering, taking pleasure in seeing John happy.

Eventually it was determined that the humans had spent long enough in the water, and with a flurry of farewells they trickled out slowly. All of them except John. She stayed with Todd, laying her head on his shoulder in the silence. He debated fiercely what the best course of action would be, settling on running his hand through John's hair. Todd was thankful that that, at least, hadn't changed.  
"I'm so lost, Todd," the colonel whispered. "So damn lost."  
He didn't know what to say. If he'd gone through this, he'd be lost too. He leaned his head over on top of John's.  
"They all knew. This whole time, they all knew. Nobody did anything to get rid of me, nobody leaked it to the brass on Earth, nothing."  
"This surprises you?" Todd whispered.  
"Yeah. A little. I thought I was good at hiding it, that it would be the end of everything if they found out."  
"And now that everything has not ended, you do not know how to respond."  
"Nope."  
"I have a suggestion."  
"And what's that?"  
"Accept it. Move forward."  
John laughed. "Yeah. Maybe."  
Todd lifted her out of the water; it really was too long for the human to stay there. He kept running his hand through her hair, though. She didn't seem to mind.

* * *

Meanwhile, six hours ago...

The law was a massive grey area here, Lucifer had learned. Whichever set of rules were going to be applied, though, it was universally acknowledged that murderers deserved punishment, and he was more than happy to provide that punishment. Atlantis had provided him with a suitable headquarters. It was no Los Angeles 2nd Precinct, of course, but it was better. It didn't remind him so much of her (of the look on her face as he left). So much better this way. He'd already gotten his list of people to interrogate, and interrogations were the best part of this whole detective business, so it was just about time to get started. He walked into one of the interrogation rooms, turned on the camera, and sat across from his first subject.

"So. You're Doctor Zelenka?"  
"Wait, what? No. I'm Sergeant Shadwell."  
"Where's the doctor?"  
"He's fixing a leak in the stardrive, sir. Said I should take his place in line."  
"Oh, just gave it to you, just like that?"  
The sergeant in his Lantean uniform shifted nervously. "Er, no, sir. He told me there were ten bottles of the good stuff in it for me."  
Laughing, Lucifer said, "The good stuff? Naturally. A city full of humans, across the universe from home, of course there's a still. It's okay, Sergeant. I'm going to get around to him eventually, but I'll make sure you get your little bribe. Were you in the East pier science complex when Dr. Kavanaugh was killed?"  
"I was, sir," the man replied. Lucifer couldn't quite place his accent. Welsh, maybe? Northern? It was ineffable somehow.  
"What did you think of Kavanaugh?"  
"Well, sir, I never really knew him."  
"Surely you had to have an opinion, in a city this small. It's okay, Sergeant. You can tell me," the Devil said with a smile.  
The soldier hesitated, clearly trying not to speak, but he lost in the end. They all lost in the end. "Way I heard it, sir, he 'ad it coming."  
Lucifer leaned in. "Oh? Do tell."  
"He walked over everyone. Treated people smarter than him, tougher than him, better than him, like garbage. There's not a single person in this city shedding tears about it."  
"I see. And did you kill him?"  
"Of course not!"  
"Oh, and by the way, what do you think of Colonel Sheppard?"  
"She's a proper commander, she is. Saved my life twice personally, not counting the times she's saved the city. Had a crush on her for a bit, but she's clearly head over heels for her Wraith."  
"You keep calling the colonel 'she.'"  
"Aye, beg your pardon, sir. We're not s'posed to do that, not round strangers like yourself, but I can't seem to stop myself."  
"Interesting. You're free to go, Sergeant."  
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," the sergeant said quickly as he got up to leave.  
"Oh, and Sergeant? I've always wanted to say this; don't leave town," the Devil tossed after him with a chuckle.

* * *

"Doctor Parrish, what are your thoughts on Doctor Kavanaugh?"

"I'm glad he's dead," the man said before clamping his hand over his mouth.  
"You're not alone, Doctor. Everyone seems to be overjoyed at his death. Did you desire his early demise?"  
"Not really. I hated the man, but not that much. He wasn't even supposed to be here; he usually stays on the Deadalus while it's docked."  
"So, what is it you truly desire?"  
"I... I want to stay here. Finish my life's work here in Pegasus."  
"And what do you think about Colonel Sheppard?"  
"I heard she's been thinking of teaching surf lessons, and I'm gonna sign up."

* * *

"So, do you like Colonel Sheppard?"

"She's a massive pain in my ass, but I suppose she has a point most of the time."

* * *

"And Sheppard?"

"Family, sir. She's family. And that's the thing about it all, isn't it? Out here, your family is all you've got."

* * *

"So, Lieutenant Cadman, is it?"

"Yep."

I'm going to do us all a favour here and skip to the good parts, yes? We're on a bit of a schedule. You clearly hated Kavanaugh. Everyone hated him. My question is, what did you desire?"

"Simple. I wanted to kill that bastard."  
"And did you?"  
"Yep."  
"Why?"  
"Well, it was simple. The first year he mistreated everyone, I hated him. The second year, I loathed him. Then I saved his life, at the cost of three of my best men, and do you know what he told me?"  
"No. What was it?"  
"He said, 'Some rescue that was. Next time, they better send someone with brains instead of tits.'"  
Lucifer winced. "So you stabbed him."  
"Wait, what? No. Who said anything about stabbing? I hacked the life support in his quarters on the Daedalus to kill him in his sleep."  
"And it would have worked, if he were on the Daedalus. But he was in Atlantis last night, murdered by another. You're going to be held here until we can deport you to Earth for trial."  
"Deport? Don't you mean recall?"  
"No, Lieutenant. I don't."


	7. Interlude: The Sixth Floor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which: we take a break from Atlantis to check in on the IOA. 
> 
> Credits to my beta reader SolUnderscore!

Evan Lorne hated the IOA building. Hated everything about it, in fact, from the shiny glass facade to the pamphlets about "intelligence oversight and you" in the lobby. He especially hated the music in the elevators here. However, he was executive officer on Atlantis, and that meant he was in charge of paperwork. Requisitions, personnel assignments, budgets, it all flowed through one Major Lorne's small office, and all bore his illegible signature. So when the IOA had questions (which was most of the time), inquiries (every now and then), or witch hunts (almost always), he had to put on his dress blues, gate to Earth and then beam to DC, and try to win whatever political games were being played on behalf of Atlantis. He navigated the labyrinth of cubicles, hallways, and offices, coming to the nameplate on the wall. Teresa Provost, Special Projects. Lorne almost didn't hate these pointless mind games when he was facing her. Especially compared to LaPierre or Shen.

Ms. Provost's door, as always, was wide open. He walked in quietly, watching as the IOA rep ran her hands over the Braille display in front of her. She smiled. "Evan! I was wondering when you'd stop by."  
"Someday, Ms. Provost, you're going to tell me how you know it's me."  
She laughed. "Would you believe it if I told you I could smell the colors of all the pretty ribbons on that uniform?"  
He replied gravely, "No, ma'am. I would not."  
"Take a seat," she said magnanimously, gesturing with her hand to a place she knew damn well there wasn't a chair. Evan didn't know how she always knew these things, but she knew. He pulled up a chair, with an obnoxious grinding sound, watching Ms. Provost's smile widen. "And I keep telling you, no need to be so formal. Call me Tessa."  
"As long as you're in control of my city's operating budget, I'd rather not, ma'am," Evan replied.  
The woman's smile faltered as she shook her head. "If you think I'm in control of your budget, you're not giving yourself enough credit, Evan. Besides, I thought you enjoyed this game as much as I did."  
"Game, ma'am?"  
"Really, Evan. Tessa. I insist."  
"What game, Tessa?"  
"Oh, you know exactly what game. The game where I hand you a copy of your most recent budget, and tell you that it's absolutely miraculous how this year you've had absolutely no spending on ethanol."  
"We've made great strides in fuel efficiency," Evan said with a smirk.  
"Yes, apparently! Strides so great, in fact, that I looked into it. You lot are always coming up with such great things, aren't you?"  
"Well, we certainly try, Tessa."  
"Great things like the F-302 Space Superiority Fighter, the only vehicle Atlantis stocks. A vehicle which doesn't use ethanol for fuel. Never has. So, my question is, with no ethanol, what are you intergalactic coolkids drinking on Atlantis these days?"  
Evan shrugged casually. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know."  
"Evan, I think it's perfectly fine to have a distillery in another galaxy funded by the taxpayers of twelve member countries. Better than half of the things we're shelling out for, anyway. But I'm not the only one that can see your reports."  
"What are you saying, Tessa?"  
"You need to be better at cooking your books, Evan. Much better."  
"Shouldn't you be telling me _not_ to cook them?"  
"No, because then they'd shut you down, and I like you."  
Evan blinked, staring at Tessa's piercing teal eyes. "You like me, so you want me to defraud the IOA?"  
"No. You're already defrauding the IOA. I want you to get good at it."  
"Oh, is that all?"  
She cackled heartily, like a witch out of some old movie. "Nope. That's definitely not all. You're also going to buy me lunch."

* * *

Evan had no idea why he'd ever agreed to this. He was at least a city block behind Ms. Provost, who apparently had a reckless disregard for her own safety. She'd simply said "Do try to keep up, coolkid. Wouldn't do to have a blind civilian leaving you in the dust," then taken off at a dash. She was using her cane less for navigating than for pushing unwitting bystanders out of the way. As he chased after her, apologising profusely, he could hear her gleeful cackle from up ahead. He shook his head and pressed on with determination. It was at least two miles of this before Tessa's laugh stopped, and Evan slowed down, finding her leaning against the wall of a local bistro. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he pointed an accusing finger at the IOA rep. "You're crazy. Nuts. _Wacko_ ," he said. She grinned and grabbed his wrist. "Yep. Come on, I'm starving." Tessa was absolutely insane, and God help him, the major liked it.

They got a table with a view - Tessa's request, not Evan's - and the waiter brought them menus. The major took his and started looking through it, while Tessa asked the waiter if they had one in Braille. He answered nervously, saying they didn't, which only caused her to smile. "I'm sure it'll be fine; maybe I can _lick_ it hard enough to figure out what it says," she said sarcastically. And then she actually did it. Ms. Provost made a show of licking the entire menu sloppily before handing it back and saying, "I'll have the minestrone, thanks." Evan quickly said he'd have a Reuben with fries, burying his head in his hands and hoping to avoid being associated with Tessa's oddness.

The waiter departed with a mixture of haste and disdain, and Evan had to ask. "Why do you care so much about the Expedition, Tessa?"  
She raised an eyebrow. "I was originally supposed to go. Liz - Doctor Weir - wanted legal scholars on the team, to study the ancient society from that perspective. The military disagreed. They also considered me a liability."  
"Because of -"  
"Yeah. Because I'm blind."  
"Not hiring you for a civilian job because of that? Don't get me wrong, isn't that illegal?" Evan said, a concerned expression on his face.  
"Illegal? No, couldn't be. I'm a lawyer, after all. Hold on, coolkid, let me check the books. Well, would you look at that. It says that I can't file suit against an organization when revealing that organization's existence is high treason."  
Evan sat back; this idea had never occurred to him. Tessa was right. Being this heavily classified meant the Stargate program was _de facto_ above the law. "Is this the only one?" he asked softly.  
"The only what?"  
"The only time people high up in the program used their secrecy to break the law."  
She shrugged. "I wouldn't know. What I do know is this sort of thing rarely happens just once."  
Evan shook his head slowly. "Yeah. That's concerning."  
Their waiter returned with their food, and Evan switched topics, asking Tessa about her time in law school. He also sent a quick email to Sheppard. Intergalactic email was much slower than the usual kind; the hyperspace relays introduced a delay of up to an hour round-trip. Even so, it was a huge improvement from the isolation of previous years.

Tessa was stealing his fries with pinpoint accuracy when Evan's phone buzzed with a reply. As he read it, his face lit up. Sheppard was the best CO he'd ever had for reasons exactly like this. "Tessa," he said with a smile, "how quickly can you pack?"  
"Pack for what, Evan?"  
"Well, it turns out the Expedition could really use some legal theorists at the moment."  
"You mean-"  
"Yes, I do. The one way trip of a lifetime. What do you think, are you in?"  
Tessa snorted. "What, and leave my entire life behind on a whim, going somewhere I might never come back from? And being stuck with you the whole time, to boot?"  
The major's confidence faltered as she said that, but he nodded anyway.  
Another of Ms. Provost's trademark unsettling grins spread across her face as she said, "Of course I'm in. I might even be ready by the end of the day if I got help packing from some sort of local coolkid soldier boy."


End file.
